Pronouns are the backbone of many languages, including French. Their primary function is to replace nouns or noun phrases and eliminate repetition in both speech and writing. Once context is established, pronouns step in to keep things flowing quickly. Instead of saying “Jack” every time you mention him in a conversation, in English, you would say “he.”
There are many types of French pronouns, and each is dependent on where it falls in a sentence. Understanding each type of pronoun can help you better improvise in conversation. Plus, it actually makes conversation easier—your sentences will be simpler, shorter, and less repetitive. You’ll be able to say more with far less!
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What are French pronouns?
Pronouns replace French nouns and eliminate repetition in French sentences and conversations. The most difficult part about French pronouns is identifying them in speech, since they’re single-syllable words and easily blend into longer sentences.
It’s important to remember that French pronouns are used as much more than replacements for subjects and objects. That’s why there are 15 types, which also means there are 15 different ways that nouns/pronouns can be placed in a sentence. You may see some repetition between the actual pronouns used—me is both a direct and indirect object pronoun—but the function is different.
There are two main categories French pronouns can be categorized into: personal and impersonal.
The 5 types of personal French pronouns
A personal pronoun is a pronoun used to designate a person (animals included). In English, these would include “you,” “I,” “he,” “she,” or “her.”
French grammar supplies plenty of ways to represent the person in question without endlessly repeating their name each time you want to mention them in a conversation.
French subject pronouns
A subject pronoun is used as the subject in a sentence. The subject of a sentence is the noun that produces the action of the verb.
- Aujourd’hui, j’ai marché jusqu’au magasin. = I walked to the store today.
- Il va au supermarché. = He is going to the supermarket.
Here, il, or “he,” is the subject that engages in the verb va (go). Notice how the English translation is “he” and not “him.” “Him” is an object in English, rather than a subject. Understanding these distinctions in your own language helps you understand them better in another.
| French | English |
| je | I |
| tu | you (informal) |
| il/elle/on | he/she/one |
| nous | we |
| vous | you (formal/plural) |
| ils / elles | they (masc./fem.) |
In French, on may mean the impersonal or hypothetical “one” or “we.” And you can use either ils or elles to say “they.” Note the distinction in the following examples:
- On est responsable de tous les dégâts. = One/We/They is/are responsible for all the damages.
- Ils font trop de bruit ! = They are making too much noise!
French direct object pronouns
Direct object pronouns are, as their name suggests, pronouns that are used as direct objects in a sentence. An object is the noun that receives the action of the verb. “Direct” means that there are no French prepositions or other objects that come between it and the verb. Take this example:
- Je l’aime. = I love her.
“Her” is a direct object—it’s receiving the love and has no other objects to compete with that also receive this action. The full pronoun in this example is la to match the grammatical gender of the direct object, but we’re using the contracted version (l’) here to eliminate the side-by-side vowels (la aime).
You might be wondering why the direct object pronoun comes before, rather than after, the verb. This is a major difference between English and French. In English, objects come after the verb, in French, they come before it.
It is necessary to note that certain verbs in French automatically render certain pronouns as direct objects. For example:
- Je le cherche. = I’m looking for him.
In English, “him” is an indirect object. But in French, the verb chercher does not have a preposition after it, so any object that receives its action is direct.
| French | English |
| me | me |
| te | you (informal) |
| le/la/les | him/her/it/they |
| nous | us |
| vous | you (formal/plural) |
Note how the French grammatical gender of the noun that les represents doesn’t affect its form. Whether it’s a group of masculine or feminine nouns, it all gets grouped into les.
- Je les adore. = I adore them.
French indirect object pronouns
Indirect object pronouns are like direct ones, only they aren’t the first to receive the action of the verb. These pronouns are objects that also receive a verb’s action but share it with others. In some cases, these are objects that are simply preceded by a preposition. Indirect objects often answer the question “To whom/what?” or “For whom/what?” when referencing the action.
- Je lui donne le magazine. = I’m giving him the magazine.
“Him” is the indirect object because “magazine” is the direct object of the verb “giving.”
| French | English |
| me | me |
| te | you (informal) |
| lui | him/her/it |
| nous | we |
| vous | you (formal/plural) |
| leur | them (both masc./fem.) |
Examples:
- Je lui parle du concert. = I’m talking to him about the concert.
- Nous leur enseignons l’Histoire au lycée = We teach them World History in high school.
French prepositional object pronouns
In addition to the pronouns in the previous section, there is another group of pronouns that function with prepositions as indirect objects. These are called prepositional object pronouns. They can only be indirect objects and, as such, are always preceded by a preposition.
- Cette part de tarte est pour moi. = This piece of pie is for me.
In the table below, you’ll notice that some of the personal prepositional object pronouns are the same ones we’ve previously seen as subject, direct object, and indirect object pronouns, like nous and vous.
| French | English |
| moi | me |
| toi | you (informal) |
| lui/elle | him/her |
| nous | us |
| vous | you (formal/plural) |
| eux/elles | them (masc./fem.) |
Examples:
- Les filles sont déçues parce que leurs parents ne sont pas partis en vacances avec elles. = The girls are disappointed because their parents did not go on vacation with them.
- Il nous a finalement répondu au bout de trois jours ! = He finally responded to us after three days!
French reflexive pronouns
If you’ve reviewed the pronoun types above, you should have a solid grasp of what a subject and object are in a sentence. Understanding this is key to wrapping your head around reflexive pronouns!
Reflexive pronouns are object pronouns whose subject is the same as the object it represents. Another way of describing them would be as object pronouns that reflect their subject. For example:
- Il veut le faire lui-même. = He wants to do it himself.
| French | English |
| moi-même | myself |
| toi-même | yourself (informal) |
| soi-même | himself/herself/oneself |
| nous | ourselves |
| vous | yourself (formal)/yourselves (plural |
| eux-mêmes | themselves (masc./fem.) |
Similar to how certain French verbs have the built-in preposition à, rendering their object pronouns indirect, there is also a set of verbs that are always or mostly used with reflexive pronouns. It is common practice to express these verbs in the third person singular form of s’ + infinitive verb.
| French | English |
| s’amuser | to have fun |
| s’appeler | to be named |
| s’asseoir | to sit |
| se baigner | to swim |
| se coucher | to go to bed |
| se dépêcher | to be in a hurry |
| se lever | to rise |
| se passer | to happen/to occur/ to pass |
| s’occuper | to take care of/occupy oneself with |
| se réveiller | to wake up |
Examples:
- Je m’appelle Tom. = My name is Tom. (literally, I call myself Tom.)
- Ils se baignent dans la mèr. = They’re swimming in the ocean. (They themselves are swimming in the ocean.)
The 9 types of impersonal pronouns in French
The impersonal pronouns refer to general objects and persons rather than any specific one like “you” or “them.” Impersonal pronouns might be the English equivalent of words like “these/those” and other times as pronouns of place like “here/there.” Other times, they might function as possessive pronouns like “his” or “their.”
Impersonal French subject pronouns
Impersonal subject pronouns in French are grammatically the same as their personal pronoun counterparts in that they function as subjects that “initiate” the verb in a sentence. However, as their name suggests, they are impersonal. So, rather than the standard je, tu, and il/elle/on, you have ce and il to designate impersonal expressions or verbs that have no agent.
- It is necessary to do the dishes. = Il faut faire la vaisselle.
In this sentence, the verb falloir (to be necessary to) is not being initiated by any person, thing, or actor who is responsible for the verb (what’s referred to as “agency”).
| French | English |
| c’ (with être)/ce (with devoir) | it/that |
| il | it |
| qui | who |
Examples:
- Il pleut. = It’s raining
- C’est absurde ! = That is absurd.
- Qui est à la porte ? = Who is at the door?
You’ve probably already come across ce without even noticing it, as it’s featured in many sentences that contain the contraction ce + être = c’est (it is/that is).
French adverbial pronouns
The two French adverbial pronouns are y and en. They each substitute nouns that would be followed by a preposition. As always, these pronouns are placed before the verb of which they’re an object.
You’ll use y to replace a noun and any of these prepositions that precede it:
- à (to/in/at)
- en (in/into/to)
- dans (in/inside of)
- chez (at the house of/place of)
Y represents nouns of place, especially those that someone is going to or spending time at. There is one very common exception though! Y is always used with penser (as in, thinking about something) due to the fact that penser is always followed by à.
You’ll use en to replace a noun and its preceding preposition when that noun is followed by de (of). Since there’s only one option, this one is quite easy to remember! En represents someone or something that is from somewhere. It can replace nouns of place like “here” or “there.” It can also be used as a substitute for “about,” as in, “We were talking about the weather.”
Remember that French uses different prepositions than English—there isn’t always a direct translation between them. Also note that you can’t use y or en to replace your indirect object pronouns. For instance, you can’t say J’y écris instead of Je lui écris (I’m writing to him).
Examples:
- Oui, j’y vais. = Yes, I’m going there.
- Il y a trop de règles ! J’en suis fatigué ! = There are too many rules! I’m tired of them!
French relative pronouns
Here is where you’ll really need your knowledge of what a subject and an object are, as well as verbs in French that have the built in prepositions of à and de. These will help you use the relative pronouns que, qui, dont, où, and lequel.
The table below provides their English translations as well as what prepositions these pronouns can follow in a sentence.
| French | English | Prepositions | Use |
| qui | who/which/that | after à, de, pour, chez, and avec | indirect object (usually people) |
| que | who/whom/which/that | direct object followed by a pronoun or noun | |
| dont | that/of which | to replace an object or a person when de is included, or following a verb with de | |
| où | where/when | to refer to a place of location or in time |
In English, you might say, “Who are you speaking to?” However, in French, you would say something closer to “To whom are you speaking?” (À qui est-ce que tu parles ?).
| French | Used after | Forms |
| lequel | sur/avec/dans/pour | lequel (M.S.) laquelle (F.S.) lesquels (M.Pl.) lesquelles (F.Pl.) |
| auquel (à + lequel) | à | auquel (M.S.) à laquelle (F.S.) auxquels (M.Pl.) auxquelles (F.Pl.) |
| duquel (de + lequel) | de | duquel (M.S.) de laquelle (F.S.) desquels (M.Pl.) desquelles (F.Pl.) |
Here’s a list of examples that use each relative pronoun:
- Le magasin qui venait juste d’ouvrir, était soudainement fermé. = The store that just opened was suddenly closed.
- À qui appartient ce portefeuille ? = Who does this wallet belong to?
- La voiture que tu as achetée est belle ! = The car (that) you bought is beautiful!
- La maison dont je m’occupe est en bon état. = The house that I’m taking care of is in good condition.
- Le jour où tu es venu nous rendre visite était très spécial. = The day (when) you came to visit us was very special.
- C’est la maison dans laquelle j’ai grandi. = That’s the house I grew up in.
French indefinite pronouns
In French, indefinite pronouns are used in the same way they are in English: to refer to people, places, or things without saying exactly who or what they are. For example:
- Tu peux les utiliser, mais certains ne fonctionnent pas. = You can use them if you want, but certain ones don’t work.
In French, there is no extra word needed to reinforce a pronoun like the “ones” does for “certain ones” in English. The pronoun alone will do. It must, of course, agree in number and adjective with the noun it describes though, as the table below details.
| Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Masculine Plural | Feminine Plural | English |
| un autre | une autre | d’autres | d’autres | other |
| certain | certaine | certains | certaines | certain |
| chacun | chacune | chacuns | chacunes | each |
| – | – | plusieurs | plusieurs | many |
| quelque chose | – | – | – | something |
| quelqu’un | – | – | – | someone |
| – | – | quelques-uns | quelque-unes | some (people) |
| quiconque | – | – | – | anyone |
| personne (ne + V. + personne/ personne + ne + V.) | no one/nobody | |||
| tout | toute | tous | toutes | all |
| un | une | – | – | one |
| l’un | l’une | – | – | one |
Take a look at how they’re used in a sentence:
- Il ne se préoccupe pas des autres. C’est pourquoi il n’a personne pour l’aider. = He does not care about others. That’s why he has no one to help him.
- Regarde ! Il n’y a personne ! = Look! There’s no one (here)!
- Toutes sont très intelligentes ! = All (the girls) are very intelligent!
French possessive pronouns
Possessive pronouns are ones that indicate possession by someone or something, such as mine, his/her/its, ours, theirs, etc. There is more complexity to this in French than in English though. As we’ll see below:
- Son portable ne marche pas. = Her phone isn’t working.
In French, the “his/her” pronoun indicating possession changes form according to the gender of the object possessed, rather than the gender of the possessor. So, in the example above, the “her” in the sentence actually takes the masculine singular pronoun son, due to portable being a masculine noun.
Study the table below, and make sure to remember to pick the appropriate pronoun based on:
- Who or what possesses the object (i.e. whether you’re speaking in the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person)
- The gender and number of the possessed object
| Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Plural | English |
| mon | ma | mes | my |
| ton | ta | tes | your (informal) |
| son | sa | ses | his/her/one’s |
| notre | notre | nos | our |
| votre | votre | vos | your |
| leur | leur | leurs | their |
Examples:
- Bonjour David ! Est-ce que tu as reçu ta valise ? = Hello David! Did you receive your suitcase?
- J’ai pris mes valises avec moi.= I took my suitcases with me.
- Son idée est excellente ! = His/her idea is excellent!
When the word following the possessive pronoun begins with a vowel, we revert back to the masculine form in the case of singular objects. As in the last example, Son idée est excellente, idée is a feminine noun, but the fact that it begins with a vowel makes us use the masculine singular pronoun of son.
French demonstrative pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns are made up of an adjective describing a noun, though it’s an adjective describing “this (one)” or “that (one)” particular thing that is either “here” or “there.” It can also just mean the equivalent of “one” in English.
- Quel romman est-ce que tu voudrais acheter ? Je vais acheter celui-ci. = Which novel would you like to purchase? I’ll buy this one.
| Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Masculine Plural | Feminine Plural | English |
| ce | cette | ces | — | this/that/these |
| celui | celle | ceux | celles | this/that/these/those ones |
Here are several more examples:
- Les robes sont dans la chambre. Celle que tu cherches est sur le lit. = The dresses are in the bedroom. The one you are looking for is on the bed.
- Où sont les pommes ? Tu sais, celles que j’ai achetées tout à l’heure ! = Where are the apples? You know, the ones I bought earlier!
Note that with celui, ceux, celle, and celles, it can be used alone with -ci (this one) or là (that one) at the end.
French indefinite demonstrative pronouns
Indefinite demonstrative pronouns perform a similar function to the definite ones in the section above. However, they mostly function as “this” and “that.” There is no plural form, as they describe things that aren’t usually quantifiable.
- C’est délicieux = It’s delicious!
Yes, that is the same ce that you say as an indefinite subject pronoun, now appearing as an indefinite demonstrative pronoun!
| French | English |
| ce | it/this/that/these/those |
| ceci | this |
| cela | that |
| ça | this/that |
Examples:
- Cela n’est pas le bon moment pour discuter de ça. = That’s not the right moment to discuss that.
- Mangez ceci, ne mangez pas cela. = Eat this, don’t eat that.
French negative pronouns
Negative pronouns are ones that negate other pronouns. For example, the negation of “someone” or “everyone” is “no one” and the negation of “everything” is “nothing.”
| French | English |
| aucun(e) | none |
| ne…nul(le) | no one |
| nulle part | nowhere |
| ne…personne | no one |
| ne…quiconque | no one |
| ne…rien | nothing…not anything |
Examples:
- Rien n’est impossible. = Nothing is impossible.
- On l’a cherché et on ne l’a trouvé nulle part. = We searched for him and couldn’t find him anywhere. (or “… found him nowhere”)
Notice how the structure can be either:
- negative pronoun + ne + verb
- ne + verb + negative pronoun
French interrogative pronouns
These are relatively simple compared to previous categories and serve to address interrogative, or, question pronouns. Simply put, they are there to ask “Who?” and “What?”
- Tu fais quoi ? = What are you doing?
Quoi is typically informal. In the sentence above, the formal phrasing would be Qu’est-ce que tu fais ? Quoi can also be used on its own in a sentence like when one says “What!?” in response to not hearing, understanding, or wanting to believe something.
| French | English |
| qui | who |
| que | what |
| quoi | what |
Examples:
- Qui est-ce que tu aimes ? = Who do you like?
- Que sais-je ? = What do I know?
Important French grammar concepts to remember
There are various French grammar rules to keep in mind when applying your knowledge of pronouns. These include gender, number, and formality.
Apply gender rules to pronouns
As always, you must remember the gender and singularity or plurality of our nouns. Pronouns are no exception to this. When you possess a book, you must remember its gender in order to use the correct pronoun son (masc.) rather than the feminine sa.
If you’re restating the same word like voitures (cars) in a sentence and not wanting to repeat this word over and over, you need to use the subject pronoun elles because voitures is feminine and plural.
Recognize formal and informal pronouns
The difference between formality and informality in French applies to all manners of speech, including pronouns. You’ll need to keep this in mind when using:
- basic subject pronouns (tu, vous)
- reflexive pronouns (te, vous)
- possessive pronouns (ton, ta; tes, votre, vos)
- direct and indirect object pronouns (te, vous)
- prepositional object pronouns of (toi, vous)
Know when to omit pronouns
Unlike in Spanish, you will rarely see pronouns omitted in French. Since French verb conjugations often sound or look similar, it would make communication quite difficult. For example, if someone were to say:
- (Tu) cherches quoi ? = What are (you) looking for?
It would be difficult to know whether the speaker is asking “What are you looking for?” or asking “What is he/she looking for?” due to the pronunciation of (tu) cherches and (il/elle) cherche being identical.
The only time you omit pronouns is in the imperative tense of giving a command.
- Donnes-moi la balle ! = Give me the ball!
- Allons-y ! = Let’s go!
Key takeaways about French pronouns
French pronouns help keep you from sounding repetitive in conversations. Practice using them in conversations with live tutoring sessions from expert French speakers with Rosetta Stone.
- There are 15 different types of French pronouns.
- There are two main categories of French pronouns: personal and impersonal.
- You may see some repetition between the actual pronouns within each type, but the function is different.
- French pronouns replace nouns or noun phrases.
Written by Micah McCauley
Micah McCauley is a current freelance contributor to Rosetta Stone with years of experience teaching French to non-native speakers. His career spans the U.S., France, and China. He is currently a student and associate instructor of French and Francophone Studies. He enjoys composing music, traveling, and learning Spanish in his free time.
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